world news is next. i'm cheryl jennings. >> if all of us, see you at welcome to "world news." tonight, the shooting at ft. hood. we take you inside the base, where heroes stepped forward to save lives. what we're learning about the gunman and his mental problems. our david muir is there with team coverage, tonight, on the moment of crisis. storm warning. tornado threats across the midwest. winds toppling trees. 40 million americans on alert for severe weather. and major league argument. the baseball player who chose being with his new baby over the game. igniting an attack. >> you can hire a nurse. >> tonight, hear what the player had so say. >> we felt the best thing for our family was for me to try to stay. and a good evening to you on

this thursday night. as we come on the air, we're learning new details about the moment of crisis at ft. hood military base in texas, where the war veteran picked up a gun and started shooting. and we also know more, tonight, about his mental state. and we know more about the heroes, too, who sprang into action to stop him. ordinary americans with great courage. a policeman and a cleric. so, we begin, tonight, with abc's david muir, on the ground, at ft. hood, taking us through what happened, moment-by-moment. david? >> reporter: diane, good evening. as you know we've been on the scene all day. and this is a community stunned tonight. this evening here, we're learning more about who the shooter was. and who the hero was who stopped him. and the horror. tonight, so many here asking who was the man behind these pictures? ivan lopez, dressed in his uniform. and here he is smiling, in photos posted on facebook. his children by his side. a father of three, a husband, a soldier. but something inside, snapped.

lopez was a 34-year-old army specialist with a clean record. he served four months in iraq in 2011. the pentagon says he never saw combat. but authorities say what he created here was a horror of its own. shortly after 4:00 p.m. yesterday, he opens fire on the base. 4:16, the first wounded soldiers call 911. then, he gets into his vehicle and keeps firing. he then walks into a second building, opening fire again. the alert goes out. >> seek shelter immediately. >> reporter: then, the critical moment in this parking lot, when he's confronted by that female military police officer. he puts his hands up at first. and when he reaches inside his jacket, she pulls out her gun and fires. he shoots himself in the head. >> we are still looking for one suspect. he is down. he is down. >> it was clearly heroic what she did at that moment in time. and she did her job. and she did exactly what we would expect of a united states army military police. >> reporter: tonight, we are learning there were many heroes. the chaplain inside, shielding

the soldiers. but when it was done, he had killed 3 and wounded 16 others, 3 of them critically. they were brought in through here? dr. matt davis answered the call five years ago after the shootings here in ft. hood. he brought us into the e.r., where he is, sadly, treating the wounded again. what is the worse you saw? >> there were several that i would consider pretty severe injuries. injuries to the spine. the neck. >> reporter: among them, 27-year-old sergeant keisha fountain. her family says she tried to talk to the shooter. she was shot in the stomach. they're by her side, undergoing surgery again today. and carole miller's son, too. the dallas mom, praying for him. major patrick miller, among the injured. these families want to know, what could have led to this? on the same facebook page, a post in 2013, showing lopez in full gear and a comment. memories of fallujah, iraq, 2011. authorities say he later diagnosed himself with traumatic brain injury.

>> he was not a wounded warrior. he was not wounded in action, to our records. no purple heart. not wounded in action, in that regard. >> reporter: lopez had moved from a base in el paso here to ft. hood, just three months ago, with his second wife and their 3-year-old daughter. neighbors, today, telling me, they watched the family move in. you saw them. and they looked happy? >> yeah. seemed happy. >> reporter: neighbors were with his wife yesterday, when news crossed of the shootings. at first, she was worried for her husband's safety. >> she was crying. so, i just, you know, i just consoled her. you know, i thought everything would be okay. and we all came downstairs. and you know, we sat there. and as soon as they announced the name of the shooter, she -- she just lost it. >> and what did she say to you? and what did you say to her? >> she said, that's him. that's him. and i didn't really say anything to her because, what could i say? >> reporter: and while authorities here at ft. hood were aware lopez suffered from mental issues, seeing a psychiatrist last month.

today, in washington, the secretary of the army said there were no warning signs of anything like this. >> no indication on the record of that examination that there was any sign of likely violence, either to himself or to others. >> reporter: but what no one knew is as he was seeing that psychiatrist, lopez had purchased a .45 caliber handgun, from this store, guns galore, on march 1st. a little more than a month ago. the same gun store near ft. hood, where major nidal hasan bought his gun in 2009, before he killed 13 here. a community and its resiliency being tested all over again. and, diane, i've got to tell you, while we were in that e.r. today, that doctor treating the most critically wounded, telling the three patients he was upgrading to serious condition tonight. so, some good news here at ft. hood. >> that's right. and, david, you were telling us, as well, some lives were saved by the lessons learned five years ago at ft. hood. >> reporter: yeah. incredibly. you heard that alert in the piece there. and the tweet that went out immediately.

we read that tweet when it went out. and you talk to anyone here. they tell you, they're convinced this could have been much worse had it not been for the immediate action of everyone here at ft. hood, when that shooting began. diane? >> david muir, on the scene tonight. and we still want to know more about this gunman with a history of depression and anxiety. so, abc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, who has covered the community of soldiers at ft. hood, for years, tells us what she's learned tonight. >> reporter: ivan lopez spent nearly half his life in the army, serving as a peacekeeper in the sinai, an infantry man in the deserts of iraq. first joining the guard in his native puerto rico, where his former supervisor, today, had nothing but praise. so, you would say he was an outstanding soldier? >> that's correct. he was an outstanding and disciplined soldier. >> reporter: but now, we know that last summer, things began to unravel. >> from depression, to anxiety, to some sleep disturbance.

he was prescribed a number of drugs to address those. >> reporter: including ambien, for sleep. and while he saw that psychiatrist, as recently as last month, no signs of what was to come. and even though lopez was being tracked for signs of posttraumatic stress, he had not been diagnosed and fully treated. >> there's not a diagnosis that you make on one appointment. >> reporter: even if he had, it's unclear whether he would have stood out. the military, today, dealing with a staggering number in its ranks. one in five, with mental issues. more than double the civilian population. almost always, it's about depression, not violence. >> depression, anxiety, ptsd, those are kind of on the mild end of the scale. >> reporter: this happens just as a time when the army is trying hard to destigmatize those who report symptoms of posttraumatic stress. but the military is struggling to keep up with the number of

cases. a number that is sure to grow. diane? >> thank you so much, martha raddatz. and abc senior justice correspondent, pierre thomas, is also standing by, with the latest on the investigation. pierre? >> reporter: diane, law enforcement is now dissecting every part of lopez's life. they're looking closely at reports that he got into a heated argument on the day of the shooting. they're also talking to family, friends and associates, and are going through his computer, his facebook page, e-mails. anything that might shed a light on why he snapped. one area they may focus on. his family in puerto rico tells us he was extremely upset about given a very limited time to return home after his mother died of a heart attack last november. diane? >> all right. pierre thomas and the entire abc news team on the story tonight. thank you, pierre. and we move, next, to the weather watch for 40 million americans in the middle of this country. a bull's eye of dangerous weather. hail like golf balls, fierce winds and the threat of tornadoes. the storm zone is stretching

from illinois to the gulf and now marching east. and abc's ginger zee, a veteran storm chaser, is on the ground there. ginger? >> reporter: diane, it smells and it feels like spring storms. right here in memphis, we're in the elevated risk area. and although the storms have fired well to our west, it is going to be a long night in what has already been a long day of severe weather. sirens before sunrise in st. louis, missouri. an ef-1 tornado. winds as high as 110 miles per hour, slicing across the land. trampling nearly 100 homes. the governor of missouri, declaring a state of emergency. more than five inches of rain, forcing flash floods and water rescues south of kansas city. pelting rain, halting the cardinals in cincinnati. the stands, empty. this fire truck sliding off the road and flipping over in indiana. at least 180 reports of severe weather over the past 2 days. most of those, sounding like this.

in denton, texas, hail as big as baseballs, shattering windshields. as we watch the line of storms pop up, we know that hail, big hail, could be a possibility because as the storms get really high into the atmosphere, the colder it gets. the higher the storm, the bigger the hail. and not far northwest, a different type of frozen precipitation, spring snow, dropping up to 20 inches on parts of colorado. let's focus in on who needs to be concerned tonight through tomorrow because this is not just an evening event. here, we'll take you into that elevated risk area that you're seeing in red. anywhere from southwestern missouri into western tennessee, just south of st. louis and all the way into northern louisiana. that's the elevated risk. but it can happen anywhere from eastern texas up to about cincinnati. then, as we head into the overnight, early friday, here's what you can expect. all the way from the gulf coast, to the southern great lakes. diane? >> our thanks to you, ginger, who will be tracking these

storms all night. and now, we head overseas to a sobering milestone. the tiny country of lebanon, tonight, at the breaking point. a new report finds that more than 1 million syrian refugees are now living in neighboring lebanon. half of them, children. that means as of tonight, every fourth person living in lebanon is a syrian refugee. it would be the equivalent of every person in canada and one-third of the residents of mexico, taking refuge here in the united states. and across this country here at home today, people were weighing in about the supreme court ruling on money and politics. the court striking down a limit on campaign contributions. and raising new questions about the influence of millionaires and billionaires, in the races for congress and the white house. tonight, abc's chief investigative correspondent, brian ross, is back on the money trail. >> reporter: the real campaign in american politics begins long before and far away from the confetti and balloons and speeches.

the real campaign for both parties takes place at fancy dinners and luxury yachts. what's your name? can't say your name? >> no. >> reporter: where the super rich decide which politicians get their money, and therefore who has a chance to be elected. >> it's absolutely about the money. >> reporter: and without it? >> without it, you're pretty much dead in the water. >> reporter: with this week's supreme court ruling, finding spending limits invalid, rich donors can now give the maximum amount for every, single candidate for congress, leaving average americans on the sideline. >> your voice is going to be drowned out by the massive contributions from a few wealthy, interested parties. >> reporter: indeed, a handful of billionaires from las vegas to wall street have emerged as the country's backroom power brokers. already been a parade of potential presidential candidates to see casino owner sheldon adelson, who says he is

prepared to spend $100 million if he can find the right candidate. and the secretive david koch, along with his brother, charles, are also good for close to $100 million for the candidates who they say support core american values. democrats portray the kochs, as evil. >> these two men are a pair of shadow billionaires, spending millions of dollars to rig our political system. >> reporter: but the democrats have their own big money figures. california billionaire and environmental activist tom steyer has put out the word he, too, will put up about $100 million dollars for the coming elections cycle. and the son of billionaire george soros, jonathan, is promising to use his own money and access, ironically, to push for reforms that would undercut the role of big money and access in politics. are you using the system like those who are often criticized for it? >> yes, absolutely. i'm not going to pretend we are not. >> reporter: soros was the only one of the big-money players to

agree to appear in our report tonight. of course, he's the one who is trying to end a system that many, including republicans and democrats, believe has made american politics a private playground for the rich. diane? >> brian ross, reporting in. thank you, brian. and next, tonight, we're going to take you inside the big-league battle. the baseball player who became a lightning rod when he chose his new baby over showing up for the game. it is a red-hot argument over paternity leave and why most new dads rush back to work. we're back in two minutes. would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age, eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health.

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>> reporter: in the opening week of major league baseball -- >> the 1-2, to murphy. and he drives a base hit. >> reporter: mets player, daniel murphy, missing two games for the birth of his first child, noah. >> it felt, for us, like the right decision to make. >> reporter: and it opened up a major controversy on sports radio. >> you're a major league baseball player. you can hire a nurse. i mean, you're going to sit there and look at your wife in the hospital bed for two days? >> reporter: football great, boomer esiason, adding to the firestorm on his radio show. >> i would say c-section before the season starts. i need to be at opening day. >> reporter: but major league baseball players have negotiated three days of paid maternity leave. and companies like bank of america, and general mills also offer paid time off for dads. facebook, as much as 16 weeks. but according to a boston college survey, 75% of men took less than a week off, no matter what their employers offered. why? many men fear taking time off work, afraid of losing status,

being seen as less dedicated. even ridiculed. but here at the ballpark, that was a risk daniel murphy was willing to take. >> i get that choice. my wife and i discussed it. and we felt the best thing for our family was for me to try to stay. >> reporter: the modern american family, knocking age-old stereotypes out of the park. >> it's 2014. it's not 1944. you're not sweating in a waiting room, waiting to hand out cigars. better families. better husbands. better fathers. >> reporter: paula faris, abc news, new york. >> and we congratulate the murphy family. and when we come back, we have breaking news about one of the kings of comedy, david letterman. the end of an era, in our "instant index."

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thrilled when he's a bit older. and look what the queen gave the pope. a basket of british treats, including whisky from her scottish home, balmoral. pope francis, the fifth pope the queen has met. the first one, she kept waiting for 20 minutes while she talked to the president of italy. and we have some big news from our friend, david letterman, tonight, who made a call to his big boss, les moonves, today. >> i said, leslie, it's been great. you've been great. the network has been great. but i'm retiring. >> really? >> yep. >> this is -- you actually did this? >> yes, i did. >> wow. >> but some time in the not-too-distant future. 2015, for the love of god, in fact, paul and i will be wrapping things up and taking a hike. >> and with that, a standing ovation from his audience. this will end letterman's

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and finally tonight, some heroes wear capes. but this one wears an orange hoodie. when a woman fell on the tracks, a stranger jumped in front of the oncoming train, hoping it would stop in time. tonight, video of courage and kindness in action. and abc's gio benitez has the man who is "america strong." >> reporter: this is an underground train station in chicago wednesday morning. people are looking in disbelief. watch. a man is jumping around on the tracks, wearing orange. the oncoming train, just feet away. >> out of the blue, i hear somebody yelling, she fell.

she fell. the train is coming. >> reporter: a woman had fallen on to the tracks. and eddie palacios, an off-duty tsa officer was right there, heading into work. he jumped on to the tracks, thinking his orange hoodie would be bright enough to alert the conductor. the train stopped. >> that man is really a hero. i don't think i could have stood on the tracks. >> i really don't think that i'm a hero. i did what i thought was best. >> reporter: but look at how many people were on that platform. eddie's the only one who jumped on to the tracks. that orange hoodie, giving him confidence. >> my son, he doesn't go to the university of illinois. he goes to the university of chicago. and he likes me to wear his burgundy hoodie. but my wife was washing it yesterday. and this was the closest one. and this is the one i wore. so, i guess it was meant to be for me to wear it. >> reporter: his son, like many of us, wondering, what were you thinking? >> in life, we're going to be called to task sometimes. and as a father, hopefully, i'll be able to teach him that. >> reporter: called to task. and saving a life.

now, that's "america strong." gio benitez, abc news, new york. and thank you for watching. we're always here at abcnews.com. "nightline," later. and we'll see you again tomorrow night. good night. tonight why was a veteran daysed in the middle of a traffic stop? >> a man found dead after coming home from his job. >> a safety campaign against texting while driving and a bay area man hopes to shame you into breaking that habit. >> we'll hear from chefs who claim a new law will ruin the art of making sushi.

>> so good evening, i'm kristin zee >> cops accused of violating rights of an air force veteran the veteran is suing for unspecified damages from the department. david? >> well, the city says the police officers were doing their job. close to bar crossing time. officers say the passenger didn't follow instructions the situation got worse, now, the city being asked to pay damages. a traffic stop started out routinely. however, air force veteran, a passenger ended up on the ground after blurting out an f-word at the officer.

he was daysed and jailed for resisting aest. his attorney is suing the city for violating free speech. >> it's an important case. and that is what we're fighting for. >> the incident during a time when police were criticized for alleged excessive force. this is video of a 2009 incident that innocenced members of the vietnamese community the city attorney and police declined to do interviews. one group says sooes the case as important to repairing relations. >> the only thing to build back trust is if there is signalling from the administration to acknowledge they're willing to put time, effort and resources into to address them >> the policy took affect requiring officers to document actions